Those Left Behind
by Raftina Rune
Summary: After receiving word of a certain character's death, Nino is heartbroken. To those left behind, the grief is next to unbearable. Spoilers, one-shot, and a little Nino/Jaffar.


A/N: A fanfic reminded me about Canas dying at the end of Fire Emblem. Probably one of my saddest moments of the game. Canas is, without question, my most favorite FE character. So I wrote this. I don't own FE (well...just the copy of the games I have). Please R&R, and of course, enjoy.

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The pain was absolutely torture. Nino had been through a lot in her short life, and had various injuries during battles with the three young lords. But those were all successfully healed. No amount of staves would be able to cure this gaping hole in her soul. Not even Jaffar could currently ease her pain, though he did try to earlier before finally leaving to take care of a job. The green haired mage had told him to leave her, as Jaffar was more than willing to postpone or even cancel the arrangements. She was the one with the problem after all.

A few days ago, they had gotten a message, heralding the worst bit of news to have entered her ears since she found out that her "mother" didn't care about her at all. The shaman Canas and his wife had died during a snowstorm. Canas was one of kindest people she knew, and it was a weird twist of fate when she found out that there was a reason she felt an affinity towards him. The purple haired man was her uncle. And he said that he would help her with learning about magic since she had displayed quite a bit of skill even at her age.

She still remembered her visit to Canas' village. It was such a joy to meet his family, or at least his wife and son. His wife was wonderful, and they were both related by blood. It was as though her world were a bigger and better place after feeling so different. Aside from with Jaffar, she never had felt as she did with them. She _belonged_. Nino was able to learn more about her own parents through them as well. And now…they were gone. Only her cousin was alive, with Canas' mother. Of course, Canas' brothers still existed. But the power of the Elder magic that they studied had consumed them beyond being alive, simply existing. Though…which was better? Existing, or being dead?

Moving from the chair she had been in for the past few hours, the young mage stumbled to her bedroom. The tears still in her eyes made things hard to see well. Even after these past few days, the situation was a very raw wound and right now Nino wondered if it would ever heal. Upon reaching her bed, she moved the covers back before plopping down on it. On the nightstand next her, her locket had been placed early this morning. She had forgotten to put it on. Her heart felt a tug as she remembered when she had first told Canas about it, and the picture of her real family inside.

Finally, she made herself go to bed even though it was still fairly light out. Sleep did not come easily, but it did eventually come. Unfortunately, Nino quickly found herself in the midst of nightmares. A sea of monsters and soldiers had grouped around her, to the point she was sure she was suffocating. The mage couldn't use any of her anima magic, she didn't have tomes. If that weren't enough, she couldn't even speak, or even attempt to scream for help. It was overwhelming her…

Suddenly, some of the monster sea fell down, which prompted the young lady to look in the direction in time to see a familiar spell strike more of the nightmare creatures. Which…followed to the caster.

"Canas!" Nino cried, reaching out her hand towards him. He smiled softly at her before destroying another bundle of creatures.

"Nino, wake up," the shaman commanded.

The next thing Nino knew, she had sat up in bed finding that she was breathing heavily. It was a bittersweet nightmare. Even though it was so scary, Canas had saved her. How many times during the travels with Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, and the others had he done as such? Pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and let her forehead rest on her knees. How much longer would this last? Until she joined them? Would there be any relief at all?

"My, you're not looking that well, Nino."

Her head popped up, recognizing that voice all at once. Sitting at the other end of her bed was a spirit, or specter. She didn't know whether to be afraid or overjoyed, as she recognized the purple hair and eyes in an instant. "C-Canas! Am I dreaming…? It…it must a dream," she said, seeing her dresser right through him.

The translucent Canas shook his head. "No, I really am here," he stated, his expression turning sorrowful. "I'm sorry that I did not arrive sooner. You have suffered a lot."

Nino relaxed a bit more, and considered saying that she was alright. But if he had been here a while, then it wouldn't fool anyone – let alone someone who knew her like Canas. She looked down at the cloth covers, contemplating what to say.

"I guess so. It was just…so sudden. I know that we're mages but you always seemed so invincible and strong. We all made it out of Valor together too. I just thought th-that we'd have at least a few more years together," Nino admitted.

Canas nodded. "It wasn't as though Aria and I chose to die that night. Too many things were left undone in our lives. I had my promise to fulfill for you for one," he said, then pulling his monocle off his face, to rub it with the cloth he always had tucked away.

Even if he didn't have a solid form, this act was very much routine. It almost made it seem as though here alive instead. At least, that's how the green-haired mage felt. Nino never realized how that piece of glass helped his regal appearance.

"Neither of us wanted to leave our son behind. He's very young, and I'm afraid he won't remember anything about us," Canas softly said, replacing the monocle.

This caused her to feel guilty. Sure, she had thought about her cousin, but had truly only been concerned with her loss and how she felt. At least she would remember them! A pang of empathy hit her as well, realizing that he would be like her. He would have to learn about his parents from others.

"Then, why are you here? Shouldn't you be visiting him instead?"

Again, a whisper of a smile made itself known on the shaman's face. "That is what took me so long to see you. You see, ever since we died, we've been watching him. I'm still rather unsure of letting my mother raise him, but I suppose it's the best path."

He then stood up. "Would you be able to pay him a couple of visits, and be sure that my mother isn't badgering him into studying all the time?"

Nino nodded. "Of course! If that's what will keep your soul at ease, I'd do anything," she proclaimed, genuinely eager to do anything for her uncle.

The loss she had been feeling was kept at bay in his presence. Even if Canas was lying and this was indeed a dream, this was enough. The Shaman was dead, but not forever lost. There was still hope.

As if startled, Canas blinked and started to rummage through a couple of pockets in his robes. "I almost forgot to give this to you," he casually stated, as he pulled out a pearl hairpiece and held the translucent treasure out to the female mage.

She wasn't sure if she could hold something that she wasn't sure was there, but Nino would never refuse a gift from Canas. And so she took hold of the gift. To her amazement, as her fingers touched the gold and pearls, it became as solid as her and she had to quickly finish grabbing it before it would fall through Canas' hand.

"It is, or was I suppose, Aria's. Though I believe she said it belonged to your mother before that, which is why she always kept it with her. I fear she could not come tonight to give it to you herself, but it is something she wanted to give you."

"Thank you, thank you," Nino said, her eyes welling with tears again. Not so much for mourning, but for feeling grateful. She didn't understand how Canas had done this, but it had to be really hard! She wished she could hug him like she used to whenever her uncle had done something for her. Actually, she had almost tried doing as such but stopped herself.

Placing the hairpiece on the nightstand next to her, she looked again at the lavender-haired shaman. "When… when do you have to leave?" she asked, the very thought made her heart stutter once.

"Early tomorrow morning. Before that, I am here to stay with you."

The next hours were spent with almost idle chatter, with Canas inquiring about the future Nino and Jaffar had planned together. Though that was hardly the only thing they spoke of. It easily went from that to Nino's aspirations as a mage and then onward to other things.

The minutes ticked by so quickly, and even though Nino didn't know what time it was, her eyes were telling her it was quite late. They kept on drooping over her eyes no matter how much she fought the tiredness. She had been emotionally and physically drained even before Canas had arrived, and it was a miracle alone that she had stayed up that long.

"I won't leave you before I have to," Canas reassured her, then promising to stay at the end of her bed while she slept.

The young mage closed her eyes and sleep quickly found her again. Unlike before, the nightmares did not come. Instead, it was a pleasant darkness, devoid of any fear or pain…

* * *

The next morning, Nino began to wake up when she realized that she had strong arms wrapped around her. Even without opening her eyes, she knew it was Jaffar. His steady, nearly unnoticeable breathing alone was enough to tell her that.

Depending on how long it had been since the assassin returned, he probably wasn't even asleep. No matter how much Nino wanted him to relax around her, he seemed to be even more on guard with her around. Though, the mage had learned to be patient and try her best to have him relax. A smile spread across her face as her green eyes finally revealed themselves from under her eyelids.

"Good morning, Jaffar," she said, not shocked to find that his eyes were already open. She couldn't move much closer to him than what he had done, so she simply hugged him.

"Good morning," the assassin answered quietly. He hoped that he conveyed to her the joy he was feeling. It had been days since he had last seen Nino smile, let alone one of her biggest and brightest.

Nino pulled back a bit from the embrace and felt one of Jaffar's hands touch the side of her face. The gesture was meant to be tender, though it was still fairly obvious that it was still awkward for him. The idea of tenderness and love was still a fairly new state of being for the assassin. It didn't matter to her though, he was trying hard. Even if it took time, and even if he never quite got the hang of it, it wouldn't matter to her. She _knew_ that he loved her and did everything he could to show it, and _that_ was all that mattered.

"You must have had a nice dream," Jaffar commented. "Even while you were asleep, you seemed happier."

Was it really just a dream?

It felt so real.

Now that Nino was awake, the night before felt so far away. She couldn't tell for sure if her time with Canas was just a figment of her imagination or not. "I… guess so. Canas was there," she said, looking a bit wistful.

Jaffar thought for a moment, not wanting her to be upset again. Nino wasn't a depressed person. "I noticed that you have a new trinket. I hadn't seen it before. You should wear it more," he commented, trying for a compliment.

Nino blinked and pulled away, immediately looking over at her nightstand. The action was so sudden that her companion thought that he had said something wrong. She moved so she was sitting on the edge of the mattress and gingerly picked up the hairpiece that Canas had given her the night before. So he _was here_, even if he was gone now.

Suddenly, Nino felt the most relieved that she probably ever had in her entire life. Well, it ranked up with what happened Jaffar said that he couldn't be her friend anymore, and she had entirely misunderstood him.

If this was here, then there was hope for them… right? The young lady still didn't quite understand how this had happened but the confirmation was as much in sight as the gold and pearl hairpiece in her hands.

"I promise I'll start wearing it a lot more," she said, then turning to smile at him. Soon she would hopefully get the chance to visit Canas' mother and her young cousin. With that, she moved back to stay within Jaffar's protective embrace.

Things would be alright on their side. Nino now knew this.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed my little one-shot. Don't forget to review.


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